I wasn't very nice when I blogged about McMann's Wake, so I took a few weeks to prepare myself to read her newest for teens. It's harder to be impartial after meeting the author, and I must thank Simon & Schuster for inviting me to an "intimate dinner" with the author at Suite & Tender a few weeks ago. Lisa is great and would be a welcome addition to any conference or author visit--call her! Honestly and thankfully, to me this novel is an improvement to the Wake series. While still geared toward tweens and younger teens, McMann manages to create a creepy atmosphere in a small, rural town. Cheers to having a setting that ISN'T New York or California! Cryer's Cross, Montana, is tiny and teenagers are disappearing. First, Kendall's classmate Tiffany disappears and then her best friend/boyfriend Nico. When newcomer siblings Jacian and Marlena arrive, everyone is suspicious, especially because Jacian is playing the moody, grumpy teenage boy act. Kendall isn't sure what to think about surviving the media circus, especially when all the change is making her OCD act up. McMann discussed her daughter's OCD at Midwinter, and I do love how Kendall is a character with OCD, not a character in a book focused completely on OCD. Her disability is part of the story, not the focus of the story, but adds an interesting touch. All in all, I can honestly say that I'm a Lisa McMann fan now and I'm looking forward to her next novel!
Best cover tag--"The smaller the town, the bigger the secrets."
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